Pune: A woman (33) died after she came under the wheels of a dumper truck at Punawale on Wednesday afternoon, Ravet police said, adding that the driver was arrested and charged under section 106 (causing death by negligence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanita and sections of the Motor Vehicles Act. On Thursday, a group of local residents met officials from the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) and police to once again demand a ban on the movement of heavy vehicles in daytime. Senior police inspector Nitin Fatangare said the woman, Samina Kundra, was a resident of Punawale and she along with her husband ran an eatery in the area. Around 2.30pm on Wednesday, Kundra left for home on her scooter and took the service road between Kate Vasti Chowk and Kate Vasti corner. “When she was trying to overtake the dumper truck, its rear part brushed against the scooter, causing it to slip. She fell off and came under the rear wheels of the dumper,” Fatangare said.The woman was taken to Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital in Pimpri, where she was pronounced dead by doctors, the officer said. “Soon after the accident, the driver got off the vehicle and fled the scene. Based on a complaint filed by her husband, Keshav, we registered an FIR against the driver. He was arrested later in the day. Investigations are on,” Fatangare said.Residents of Punawale have claimed that this was the second major accident reported in the area involving a heavy vehicle. Last month, a woman was seriously injured after she was hit by a dumper truck near Tathwade. “We demanded a daytime ban on heavy vehicles after that incident, but no action was taken. Now, another life is lost,” Sumit Dhage, a resident of Puneville society, said.Dhage said there are more than 1,000 flats in his society and Kate Vasti Road is the only connecting link for them. “The speeding heavy vehicles are a serious risk. We had then also requested PCMC to install additional speed breakers, especially given the presence of several large residential complexes along the road, but the demand was not taken seriously either,” he said.Vitthal Baral from Yashone Infinitee Housing Society said the area is seeing rapid development and works for several projects are currently under way. “The movement of construction vehicles continues day and night. At times, there are more than 10 or 11 vehicles carrying construction material in a row, and it becomes a scary sight,” he said.These trucks are not cleaned as per MPCB norms when they exit construction sites, Baral further said. “As a result, they bring mud onto the roads, making them slippery and accident-prone,” he said, adding that the situation has worsened during the monsoon.Sunil Shinde, executive engineer of PCMC, told TOI that the condition of the road is good and there are no potholes, but it gets muddy due to the movement of heavy vehicles. “We have written to traffic police seeking their permission to install additional speed breakers following the request made by residents,” he said.
